Wednesday, 1 November 2017

he dogsled race was about to begin. Julie’s team of dogs was lined up at the starting gate. Julie stood behind them. The air was so cold that she could see her breath. Other teams were lined up, too, and the dogs were excited. Julie kept her eyes on the clock. At exactly ten o’clock, she and the other racers yelled, "Mush!" The dogs knew that meant "Go!" They leapt forward and the race began!

Julie had trained months for this race, and she hoped she and her dogs would win. Hour after hour, day after day, Julie’s dogs pulled the sled in order to get in shape for the race.

Now, they ran over snowy hills and down into frozen valleys. They stopped only to rest and eat. They wanted to stay ahead of the other teams. The racers had to go a thousand miles across Alaska. Alaska is one of the coldest places on Earth. The dogs’ thick fur coats helped keep them warm in the cold wind and weather. In many places along the route, the snow was deep. Pieces of ice were as sharp as a knife. The ice could cut the dog’s feet. To keep that from happening, Julie had put special booties on their feet.

At first, the dogs seemed to pull the sled very slowly. They were still getting used to the race. But on the third day out, they began to pull more quickly. They worked as a team and passed many of the other racers. Once, one of the sled’s runners slid into a hole and broke. Julie could have given up then, but she didn't. She fixed it and they kept going.

When they finally reached the finish line, they found out that they had come in first place! It was a great day for Julie and her dogs.

The author of "Julie’s Race" wrote the story in order to

describe how dogs stay warm in cold weather.

tell about a dogsled race.

explain how cold it can be in winter.

entertain the reader with funny stories about dogs.

Where does the dogsled race take place?

in Antarctica

on a track

in Alaska

in a field

What happened BEFORE the dogs began running?

The dogs pulled the sled slowly.

Julie and the dogs lined up at the starting gate.

The runner on Julie’s sled broke.

The dogs pulled the sled over hills and into valleys.

Read this sentence from the story.

‘Julie’s team of dogs was lined up at the starting gate’.

What does team mean?

friends and family

to join together

many dogs

a group working together

Why did Julie and her dogs win the race?

Use the story to explain your answer.

…….Write here because they use the booties

Why don’t the dogs freeze in the cold weather?

Julie puts special booties on their feet.

They sleep by the fire at night.

Their thick fur coats keep them warm.

It doesn’t get very cold in Alaska.

Read this sentence from the story.

The dogs’ thick fur coats helped keep them warm in the cold wind and weather.

nce there was a young Inca boy. He had no family except for an old llama. Each day the boy and his llama walked many miles, looking for a home. Each night they curled up together and slept. But one starry evening, the old llama died. The boy buried his friend next to an icy stream. Then he sat under a tree and cried. What would he do? He had no family and no home.

The boy cried for a very long time. But there was no one to comfort him. There were only the stars in the sky.

Suddenly, the sky filled with bright light. The boy held his breath. He was afraid to move. One bright star fell to the ground. Slowly, the star took the shape of the old llama. She bent her head and drank from the stream. She looked at the boy and smiled. As she jumped back into the sky, bits of llama wool fell.

As the Sun began to rise, the boy picked up the soft, warm wool. It glowed in his hands like starlight. He carried the wool to the city and sold it. With the money, he bought a house. He bought two young llamas. He never forgot the star llama. And he was never lonely again.

Contributors

Calais

About Me

Hi my name is Calais. I am 11 years old I’m a year 7 at Pt England School. I live in Auckland and I was born in Napier. I moved to Auckland when I was 7 years old. I have 3 brothers and 2 sister and they are twins and I have 2 older brothers but they don’t live with me and I have another brother his name is hunter. My favourite colour is red and my favourite thing to do is to play with my friends.